It seems impossible, but my calendar tells me that I have now been a member of the ACDI/VOCA team for a year. I joined on June 1, 2018, and the past twelve months have flown by.
My first year passed so quickly because of the very warm welcome I received from the ACDI/VOCA family. But I am not surprised. Over the years, the impression I had formed of the people at ACDI/VOCA could not have been more positive. The work ACDI/VOCA and its affiliates Tanager and AV Ventures have done and their collective reputation for technical excellence and operational effectiveness meant that I expected to find great people here. And I certainly did. I am as proud to be ACDI/VOCA’s president & CEO as of anything I have done in my career.
Looking back over the past twelve months, it seems to me that it has been a truly “Three-Dimensional Year” in the things ACDI/VOCA has accomplished.
The first dimension is the great job the team has done in moving the business of ACDI/VOCA forward every day. This includes the planning and execution of all of ACDI/VOCA’s, Tanager’s, and AV Ventures’ ongoing projects and all of the varied support work which lies beneath that.
The second dimension is the progress we made in updating the foundations of our strategy. That includes the adoption of a new Mission Statement as well as new Core Values, both of which now truly reflect who we are. And it also includes setting out a Vision for where we want to be in 2030 and specific Objectives for 2021.
And finally, the third dimension is the work we have started to do to put our strategy into action. These steps equip us to take ACDI/VOCA and its affiliates where we want to go in the years to come.
So, looking back over my first year with ACDI/VOCA, I see enormous progress across these three dimensions. This achievement has taken a lot of dedicated work and creativity, which I see every day here in Washington and when I have visited our projects overseas. Those travels have taken me to Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Honduras, India, Tanzania, and Kenya to see the great work our teams are doing in those countries. Later this year, I will be heading out to Ghana, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, among other destinations, and I am looking forward to meeting our great project teams in those countries, too.
Looking ahead, I am certain that my second year with ACDI/VOCA, Tanager, and AV Ventures will be every bit as exciting and inspiring as my first. Making the world a better place is no easy task, but with teams like those I am honored to work with here, we cannot fail to move things in the right direction.
Charles J. Hall
Mr. Hall served as president & CEO of ACDI/VOCA for a four-year period from 2018 to 2022. He brought to …
